Fort Lauderdale police charged three men — including two pastors and a 90-year-old man — for feeding the homeless in public on Sunday, the first such cases made by the city after the a new ordinance effectively banning public food sharings took effect Friday.

The first to be charged was homeless advocate Arnold Abbott, 90, who has been feeding the homeless in Fort Lauderdale for more than 20 years. Also cited were two Christian ministers — Dwayne Black, pastor of The Sanctuary Church in Fort Lauderdale, and Mark Sims of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Coral Springs.

All three men face up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

I can imagine the arguments now… ‘oh, by feeding them you’re encouraging them to remain dependent on handouts, they need to learn to look after themselves, etc etc’. Well, it isn’t always that simple, and the opportunity to move out of that situation doesn’t always present itself.

Even that’s beside the point. To actually go as far as to arrest a 90 year-old and two pastors over this seems beyond excessive.